Streaming boxes have become very popular and convenient to use these days. Two of the most notable ones are the Netgear NeoTV and the Roku 2 XS. With these devices, you can have a whole new TV experience.

Comparison Between Roku 2 XS and Neo TV

Both devices are great to use to stream videos but they have their own good and bad points. This review will help you choose which one suits your needs.

Price

Both devices are cheap. You can purchase a Roku 2 XS for as low $60. Netgear NeoTV has further the competition by cutting the price to up to $50. This price range has created a bigger competition in the market between the two.

Streaming Channels

Roku offers more variety of channels to the users. It has been up for years and the channels have increased in number dramatically. Aside from movies, you can also watch major league games such as NBA. You can watch videos from providers such as Netflix, CNET, Amazon Instant, Vimeo, Flixster and Fox News. The channels, however, are arranged in a linear manner therefore it can be difficult to navigate. On the other hand, Neo TV offers preprogrammed channels. Although they are preprogrammed, you can find a variety of popular channels that Roku does not offer such as Vudu and Pandora. You can watch videos from different content providers such as YouTube, TED, CNN and CNET. The good thing about the channels is that they are arranged in a grid-like manner therefore it is easier to navigate through them.

Box and Size

NeoTV is very portable. It is very small and its plastic encasing is beautifully shiny. Its dimensions are 4x4x1. This size makes it very easy to carry around in bags or pockets. The right and the left sides of the box do not have anything on it. The front side has a Netgear logo while the back contains the ports. It has a power outlet, an HDMI outlet, S/PDIF outlet and Ethernet outlet. Roku 2 XS box is also very small. In fact, it is smaller than the NeoTV’s. Its dimensions are 3.5×3.5×1. The ports are also located at the backside. The ports include a power output, an HDMI output, microSD card slot, USB port, Ethernet and mini jack AV output. Both devices don’t have off switch buttons and they both do not consume so much energy.

Remote

NeoTV’s remote is very simple and straightforward. It is thin and very comfortable for the hands. The remote, however, as a very good response and allows you to navigate channels easily. In addition, users have the option to install an iPhone or android app to control the streaming box in case you do not want to use the remote provided. Roku 2 XS, on the hand, has a very simple and compact remote as well. Its remote is powered by 2 AA batteries and is very similar with the Wiimote with its motion-control feature. You can play games by simply moving the remote to various directions. It communicates via Bluetooth automatically so you can operate it wherever it is located.

Opening Media From External Devices

NeoTV does not have a USB port. Therefore, it is not possible to watch videos from your flash drive or hard drive. It is pretty much self-contained. It cannot also be upgraded because it does not have a microSD card slot available. This means that you can only open and watch media from streaming sites on the internet. Meanwhile, Roku 2 XS has a USB port. This allows you to open media formats such as aac, mp3, jpeg, png, mkv, mov and wmv. It also has a microSD card slot that allows you to upgrade it anytime you want.

Set Up

Both devices are easy to set up. You need an HDMI cable to connect the device to the television. You need an Ethernet cable to connect it to the internet. You can also opt to use Wi-Fi instead if you do not want to have too many cables lying around the house. Roku 2 XS supports 802.11bgn connectivity while NeoTV supports 80.11bg connectivity.

Set Backs

Both Roku 2 XS and Neo TV are great but they also have their own shortcomings. NeoTV has very limited features. It lacks a USB port that will allow users to watch videos from other resources. It pretty much depends on the streaming channels. There is also no expansion port available. Roku 2 XS has a USB port but the file formats it can support are still very limited. It does not support DLNA access and it does not offer a very engaging gaming experience even with its motion-control remote feature. Some channels also require pay-per-view fees.

Highlights

NeoTV is good because it offers a number of popular preprogrammed content channels. Its resolution is really good as it boasts its 1080p videos. It is also interesting that it has a smartphone app that doubles the smartphone to a remote. Roku 2 XS, on the other hand, is really small and compact. It offers more variety of channels and it has a USB port. It has an expandable memory because of the microSD card slot. It is still one of the most reasonably priced streaming devices in the market.